Screw Redemption
by Plumcicle
Summary: Bill Cipher is back in Gravity Falls, just not for the reason he expected, or wanted, and he's determined to get himself out of the mess he's in. - Redemption. So, that was why he was back. The word echoed in his mind, clearly in the voice of the Axolotl. Screw you too, Axolotl. Screw. You. Too. Cover credit to BIight on DeviantArt. Rated T just in case.
1. Hey, Axy!

**Hey guys, this is gonna be my first Gravity Falls fanfic. I know I have like, three other fanfictions going on, but when I get inspiration, I gotta write! I've seen a lot of Gravity Falls fanfictions out there for when Dipper and Mabel come back and Bill is revived, but a lot I've read aren't really that _good,_ are on hiatus, or just discontinued. So, for any Gravity Falls fans out there, then I hope you enjoy this and I hope that I won't lose the motivation to write this story!**

* * *

Bill Cipher was a tad bit frustrated with how things had ended up for him. Not only had he been foolishly tricked by that stupid, infuriating Stanley Pines, but they had managed to reverse the effects of Weirdmageddon! And now, he was... well, he wasn't sure if he was dead. He was in some sort of void, locked away from anything else that may be around. Was this dark, empty prison some sort of punishment for what he had done? If so, then he wished he had been sent to the Underworld! Fire, chaos, suffering, a three headed dog, that was Bill's kind of place! It would've been way more fun than this, that he knew.

He wondered how long he would have to be here. He didn't have to think about it for very long, because soon he was thrown between the hazy memories of Stan Pines, the person who was currently at the top of his _People I Need to Kill_ list. Then, after what seemed like weeks, he woke up in this strange, pinkish galaxy looking place. And floating before him was, of course, his favorite pal, the one and only Axolotl.

"Hey Axy! It's great to see you after all these centuries!" Bill said with fake enthusiasm. "I was figuring I would get to visit you again soon! What's the occasion?"

The Axolotl's expression remained neutral. "You are the one who called out to me," he said in matter-of-fact tone. His mouth didn't open when he spoke, it just remained closed with a tongue poking out. Because you know, he was godly like that, only having to use some weird form of telepathy to talk.

Bill rolled his eye. "I was just cashing in a favor, you know how it goes. I didn't feel like dying that much, okay? That's all."

"Do you feel any remorse for your actions?"

Bill looked at his salamander friend and then laughed. "Are you kidding? Of course I don't! Why would I?" He asked, as if it were the most hilarious thing he had ever heard someone say.

The Axolotl narrowed his black beady eyes, as if thinking about what to do with the dream demon. Of course, he already had an idea in his head, but he wasn't sure if it was the right one. Bill wasn't really the most trustworthy demon in this universe. After a few more moments passed, he closed his eyes, making a decision. When he opened his two black orbs again, they were glowing a fierce white and the world around him lit up. "Don't make me regret this, Bill. You'll still have some of your power."

"Huh? What're you talking abo-"

Of course, he never got to finish his sentence. The bright light was way too much for the yellow triangle and he squeezed his eye shut, putting his noodle-y arms out in front of him to shield himself from the blinding light.

When he opened his eye back up again, he found himself sitting in a forest, the sun shining on him. His hand was extended out as if he was about to make a deal with someone. There was only one thing off though. He was a freaking statue still. Could he move though? Slowly, he tried to wiggle his fingers. At first, nothing happened. But then, they started to twitch and the mossy stone around it began to crack and dissolve as his hand broke free. Finally, the rest of him was free from the stone prison as well.

Hesitantly, Bill tested to see if he could still float. Sure enough, his feet levitated off of the ground and he was airborne once again! The Axolotl had kept his word after all. Still, he wasn't sure what other powers he still possessed. He spread his hand out and a blue flame lit around it. So, he could still make deals and use his awesome destructive fire powers. Was that it? He tried to change his form to something else, but nothing happened. Alrighty, then. He would have to figure the rest out down the road.

 _Redemption_. So, that was why he was back. The word echoed in his mind, clearly in the voice of the Axolotl. When he had asked for the power to return, it was definitely not to seek redemption. Whatever. He could just ignore his purpose for being here, get his powers up, and restart Weirmageddon. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. Who knows, maybe he would even end up having fun redoing it all a second time? It could happen.

Now, he had to find out where exactly he was. Obviously, it was somewhere in Gravity Falls, he just wasn't sure where in Gravity Falls. It was clearly a forest, he knew that much. He just had to figure out what the next step of his plan would be.

He traveled through the forest for a bit, maybe an hour? He wasn't so sure. However, he stopped when he heard very familiar, annoying voices.

"I can't wait to go see the Mystery Shack again, Dipper!" The hyper one, Mabel, or as he called her, Shooting Star, let out a high pitched squeal as she bounced up and down with each step she took. Pine Tree was standing right next to her, because that's what twins do, right? If they were both back for the summer, then that meant he had been gone for almost a year! Yeesh, where did the time go?

He knew they were getting closer and there was definitely nowhere he could hide right now. Screw you too, Axolotl.

Screw.

You.

Too.

Panic creeping up on him, he quickly floated up to a tree branch, even though that was a pretty bad hiding place that they would find almost immediately. What was he supposed to do? Hide behind a bush and hope they didn't see his obvious yellow glow?

No, that would definitely not work.

Shooting Star was rambling about something called "Smile Dip." He'd have to look into whatever that was later. It couldn't be that bad, right?

Then, there it was! The pointing! The screaming! Yeah they had definitely found his hiding place. He was curious to see how this would play out. He was sure he would come up with something to get rid of the stupid Pines Twins.

Shooting Star instantly reached towards her backpack and pulled out her grappling hook. Huh. She still had that old thing? Ha! How was that supposed to stop him? What was it gonna do, shoot him in the eye? The thought alone almost made him burst out lau-

"OW!" He yelped, immediately bringing his hands up to his injured eye. She had actually shot him in the eye! One of the most painful places she could ever hit him! At least it wasn't damaged to the point where he would have to regenerate it.

"Grappling hook!" Shooting Star cried out victoriously, pumping a fist into the air while holding the cursed object. Pine Tree grinned triumphantly, but there was still caution in his eyes. This was Bill they were dealing with! Not one hit from a grappling hook would take him down. They had to figure out a plan.

Bill's yellow brick pattern turned to an angry, bright red. He raised his hand up and fire surrounded it. "All right kids, I'm going to do what I should've done a year ago!" He snapped, getting ready to blast them with the fire. That is, until he got zapped with some stupid pink sparks. Being caught of guard, his pupil morphed into an exclamation point and his levitation failed him, causing him to fall to the ground and land with a thud. Ow.

"Uh," Pine Tree said, a bit unsure about what just happened. "This didn't happen before, right?"

"Definitely didn't happen before," Shooting Star confirmed.

Bill picked himself up the ground, still glowing an angry red. "This can't be happening," he growled, dusting himself off. He faded back to his normal yellow color. He was still pretty mad though. Pine Tree smirked and Shooting Star grinned like an absolute maniac. He didn't like where this situation was going. Not at all.

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 **First chapter's done! Hope you all enjoyed. Maybe even give me a review? Favorite? No? Okay. Anyways, reality's an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, BYE!**


	2. Sweater Chest

**Welcome back to the story, kids.**

* * *

Oh this was just golden. Apparently, he couldn't do anything with his powers to harm anyone. Boy, Ole' Axolotl must hate him more than he realized to torture him like this! He would've taken any other punishment, anything at all! Anything but this horrible, dishonoring torture method. Curse that stupid pink frilled know-it-all. He could be pretty annoying when he wanted to be.

Bill stared at the Pines Twins, who were whispering to each other, clearly trying to decide what to do with him. Was Bill afraid? Ha, no way! He would find a way around this little setback eventually.

"Grunkle Ford and Grunkle Stan said they would be back sometime this week," Pine Tree mentioned to his sister. Her eyes brightened.

"Oh yeah, you're right!" She exclaimed.

So, Sixer and Fez were out of town then? That was a relief. He didn't have to deal with those two yet freaking out. He could picture the look on Ford's face right now. Absolutely horrified. Although the kids were just as insufferable, so either way Bill lost.

"We still don't know what to do with him though," Pine Tree said, scratching his chin.

Bill had had enough. "Hey, I'm not deaf! I can hear what both of you are saying!" He snapped. He had once again levitated into the air, because having to actually stand on his two feet was way too boring. How could humans even stand it?

Shooting Star grinned, a look that could only be described as someone who was about torture someone spread across her face. Bill really wished he could obliterate them right now.

* * *

Mabel happily dragged Bill Cipher, the dream demon, the cause of Weirdmageddon, across the muddy ground. After chasing him around a bit, she was able to use the colorful handkerchiefs she had bought as a leash. She had recently gotten into the art of magic shows, so it was only logical she bought herself a bunch of rainbow handkerchiefs like they used on TV. They were all tied together in a tight knot. Even Dipper couldn't undo it. Which wasn't any surprise to her, because she was a _master_ at tying knots.

"I can't believe you actually managed to catch him," Dipper exclaimed, eyeing the dream demon who was begrudgingly being pulled along with them.

"Well, I am pretty great and- oh no, I did it again!" She cried out. She slapped a hand onto her forehead, like she had done something wrong.

Dipper raised one eyebrow. "What?"

"Well, I'm trying to be less selfish and stuff, so every time I do something like that or brag, I have to figure out something to punish myself with. Like eating a donut without ice cream!"

"That's called a bagel, Mabel."

"They're evil, Dipper! EVIL!" She shouted. Waddles was by her side and he oinked in disagreement.

Bill was currently trying to figure out how some flimsy, horrible brightly colored pieces of fabric were able to keep him trapped. It shouldn't be possible. He was _Bill Cipher_ , creator of chaos, ruler of the Nightmare Realm, the cause of Weirdmageddon! And his stupid powers bare worked, all because of the pink frilled lizard!

Yes, he knew the Axolotl was a salamander, but he knew how much it ticked the big know-it-all off when he called him a lizard. So, yeah, take that, Axy!

Now that he thought about it, he guess it did make sense. What was he expecting to happen? The Axolotl, the keeper of life, would let him waltz back into the human's pathetic dimension and burn their planet to the ground and unleash the Nightmare Realm again? It made sense most of his power was gone. But just because it made sense, didn't mean he hated the situation any less. He wanted nothing to do with this whole "redemption" thing.

But he probably wouldn't get his powers back until he went through with it. He'd have to figure out something to fix this. He just needed some time, and it seemed like he would be here for a while. So, he had plenty of time.

* * *

The Mystery Shack had changed a little bit since last summer. Its wood looked a little newer and the S had been repaired and put back on the sign where it belonged. The golf cart even looked better, the dents it had suffered from all of their adventures were now gone and it had a shiny, fresh coat of paint. The inside of the shack was pretty much the same though. Except for the attractions, which had changed a little bit. There were dream catchers, but instead of having feathers tied to them, it was gnome beard hair. Other dream catchers had Que There were also jars that contained liquid that suspiciously looked like unicorn tears.

They had run into a small problem trying to get into the Shack though.

As Bill trailed behind the twins and their pig, he slammed into some invisible force, which only appeared _after_ he had ran into it.

Dipper facepalmed. "That's right, the unicorn spell!" He groaned. "Mabel, wait here, I'll be right back. Don't let him out of your sight!" He added as he ran off. He looked for where Ford and him and put the unicorn hair and gently tried to tear it out. Some of the hair ripped into smaller pieces, but the barrier was down. He shook the uneasy feeling that lied in his stomach away. He could always put the hair back later.

He came back around the corner to where Bill and Mabel were waiting. "Okay, now pull him through. It shouldn't be too big of a problem."

Mabel all too-happily ran forward, yanking on her handkerchief rope and causing Bill to jerk forwards.

Luckily, the Mystery Shack was closed and it was just Soos who was there. He was tidying some things up and dusting off the horrifying statue of Grunkle Stan that even managed to even scare the bravest of the brave away. When he heard the door open he turned around and his face lit up when he saw them. "Dudes, you're back!" He was running towards them, about to scoop them up into a hug, but skidded to a stop when he saw Bill.

"Uhh dues, isn't that the evil triangle guy?" He asked nervously, staring at said-evil triangle guy.

"For the record, I don't want to be here any more than you want me here," Bill said cheerfully. But his expression was definitely not happy.

"We're going to keep him hostage and interrogate him!" Mabel exclaimed.

Dipper nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. His powers aren't working."

Soos still looked unsure. "Won't both Mr. Pineses be mad?" He asked, scratching his chin. His gaze hadn't left the floating dream demon, who was about to knock a snow globe off of the shelf. He flicked his hand and watched it fall forward, shattering against the ground.

"We-We'll clean that up," Dipper said, gesturing to the mess. Mabel had already gone to retrieve the mop that was sitting in the corner next to the broom. Dipper was about to help but after one last glance at Bill, he stopped. "I'll be right back," he said. He leaned to the counter to snatch the glue bottle off of it and ran outside. A few moments later, he was back in the Shack. "Good news everyone: the unicorn spell is back up and running so Bill can't escape."

Bill groaned.

"All right, you dudes can keep him," Soos said slowly. "But where are you gonna put him?"

Mabel rubbed her hands together and laughed sinisterly. "I can lock him in my sweater chest! It has sweaters! Will he suffocate in it?" She wondered. Bill rolled his eye.

"No, I don't need to breathe." He snapped. He was getting tired of people talking about him like he wasn't in the room. Sure, he would stalk people all the time in the Dreamscape and sometimes they talked about him, but they didn't know he was there, so it wasn't as bad. When he was actually in the room, it felt like he was being ignored, and he hated being ignored.

Mabel grinned again. "In that case, it shouldn't be a problem!" Soon, Bill was dragged up the stairs to the twins' room faster than he thought any human could ever run. Dipper followed behind, but it was more of a cautious jog.

The attic seem bare and lonely without Dipper and Mabel's things scattered across the place. That would change very soon.

Dipper went over to his bed and sat down on it, unpacking his bag. He took a white journal with blue pine on the cover out and he then took out a blue pen. Bill eyed it curiously. So Pine Tree had started his own journal? Adorable! He wondered what if there was anything that could potentially be useful inside of it. Dipper began to write in it, his pen scribbling words down. Every now and then, he glanced up and glared at the equilateral triangle dream demon.

Bill shrugged. If triangles can even actually shrug.

Mabel was already taping her Sev'ral Times poster, her photos of Grenda and Candy, a few shots of Waddles, and other various things. Waddles used his stubby little pig legs to climb up onto the bed besides his human companion. Mabel wrapped her arms around Waddles and gave him a hug. Then, she hopped off of the bed and went downstairs to get something.

In a way, it was almost like being in the Dreamscape again. Almost.

Dipper opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Mabel came back up the stairs, dragging a giant pink chest covered in stickers with her. Oh, no. That must be the infamous sweater chest she had spoken of. There was no way in any dimension he would let himself get locked up in that thing. Bill hoped she had been joking, but a small part of him said otherwise.

She unlocked it and swung it open. "Behold! My sweater chest!"

"You actually brought it?" Dipper asked, astonished. He raised one eyebrow and looked up from his journal.

"Of course I did! Now, I'm going to go make some Mabel Juice!" And she was gone again.

Now it was just Dipper and Bill, two mortal enemies.

Mabel had tied Bill's handkerchief to her bed, so he couldn't move around that much. Which was something else he hated about this situation. What was he, some sort of dog on a leash?

"So," Dipper said slowly. He looked up from his journal and glared at Bill. "No powers, huh?" He asked, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

Bill glanced at him. "What's it to you, Pine Tree? I don't need any powers to make it out of this dumb Shack."

Dipper frowned. "Actually, even if you did have your powers, you'd still be trapped by the unicorn spell," he countered. He shut his journal and put it aside on the bed. "Look Bill, I don't know what you're doing here, but if you try to hurt me, or Mabel, or Stan, or Ford, or anyone else in the Mystery Shack, then you're not gonna get away with it." He stated.

Bill looked at him blankly for a second before bursting out into laughter. "Wow kid, that was a pretty pathetic excuse for a threat. You might need to work on it a little bit!" He cackled. Dipper clenched his fists in frustration. Living with Bill was going to be unbearable. They definitely didn't trust him to roam around the forest, because only the Axolotl knows what he would do.

* * *

Ford stood on the deck of the _Stan O' War II,_ looking out at the sea with a determined expression. All of the anomalies him and Stan had found in the Arctic Ocean were incredible, but at the same time, they were a bit worrying. These didn't just seem to be leaks from any random dimension, but from the Nightmare Realm. That was impossible though, since there had been a barrier keeping all the creatures from that realm in. Sure, not all of them were from chaos-filled dimension, but a good number of them were.

He was taken out of his thoughts when he heard Stan come up behind him.

"Hey Poindexter, whatcha' doing? Brooding?" He asked.

"I'm just thinking about the anomalies," he replied.

"Why? We took care of them. I've still got that bruise from the mermaid to prove it!" He said. "Besides, what you should be thinking about is seeing those kids. It'll only be a few more days."

Ford sighed and smiled. "Yes, I suppose you're right. I'm looking forward to seeing how much they've grown."

"Yeah, me too. Next stop, Gravity Falls!"

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 **WHAT? 2,199 WORDS WITHOUT THE AUTHOR NOTES? Thanks for the love this is getting guys, it means a lot to me! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Stay tuned for the next one.**


	3. Second Chances

**Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter! Sorry it took a little longer than the other one, I've been a little busy. I'm thinking about replying to review replies. Should I do it?**

* * *

Night had fallen and the Pines twins had finally gone to sleep. Mabel had been on a sugar high from her Mabel Juice and Dipper had been too paranoid to even humor the thought of doing so, with Bill Cipher being their new roommate. Thankfully, he lost the battle to his exhaustion and eventually fallen asleep. Now, Bill had some peace and quiet.

Shooting Star must've forgotten to lock him in her sweater chest, because currently he was still tied to Shooting Stars bed. He glanced down at his "chain" and a blue flame surrounded his hand, slowly burning through the fabric. Yes, yes! He was free! Why hadn't he thought of this earlier? Was he getting dumber by spending time with these meat sacks?

Even if he was free, he still couldn't get past that cursed unicorn spell.

At least now he was free to roam around the Shack. Question Mark was sleeping in that bedroom that Sixer used to use, so he didn't have to worry about the man baby finding him creeping around in the dark. That would certainly raise some unwanted questions for him.

He floated downstairs, leaving the attic behind. The benefits of floating meant he'd never step on some loud, creaky floor board. He could do his snooping around in peace.

The first thing he saw was the vending machine. He knew the code to get into Sixer's not-so-secret lab. Besides, no one would ever know he'd been there. Plus, he wanted to see if there were any clues about where the two brothers had gone to. He knew Pine Tree had mentioned something about them coming back soon. He wanted to know where they were coming back from, and if it had any information that could help him out.

He punched the code into the buttons and watched as the door slid open. This thing should be a lot harder to break into. He went into the elevator, which needed another easy code.

 _Ding._

The elevator door opened up and he entered the room. It was dark, with no lights on, and the portal was absolutely destroyed. Parts of the portal were scattered out across the floor. Some had so many dents in them he barely recognized them and others were covered in rust. There were very few that seemed to be in good condition and that could be used again.

Bill saw a desk that had books and papers spread across it. Aha, maybe this had some information! His eye scanned over the papers. There were lots of books about the Arctic Ocean. Climate, survival... he had an idea of where they'd gone. To put the icing on the cake, he saw a map that had a big red "X" that had a circle around it, placed directly on the Arctic. It was titled "Anomalies."

So, Fordsie had taken the mystery hunt outside of Gravity Falls? And better yet, he had taken his stupid twin brother with him? With the Nightmare Realm of the edge of collapsing, he wouldn't be surprised if some creatures had desperately found ways to escape. The dumb baby had said Weirdmageddon was destroying all of existence, so maybe there were just some rifts between dimensions and that's how they got there. It made sense.

Sixer and Fez would be back any day now, and that meant he'd be watched even more. What was next, would they keep him in a cage like an animal? What a stupid idea! The only ones who belonged in cages was them and their hilarious race.

Bill had gotten the information he had come for. He went back upstairs, leaving the dark basement behind him.

Back in the Mystery Shack, things were quiet. Apart from Gompers, who was chewing on one of the hats in the Gift Shop. The goat bleated at him and dropped the hat, running away into the living room. He watched Gompers leave and turned his attention elsewhere. Animals were weird, but their teeth were fun to collect and scare children with! It was one of the best things to do when you're bored.

He could rip out the goat's teeth and place them under Pine Tree's pillow, but that would just make the kid freak out and he'd make more rules for Bill to follow.

Although, when did Bill ever care about rules?

* * *

Dipper's scream of terror could be heard all throughout the house. Mabel was awake as soon as she heard it. Soos ran upstairs a moment later and Bill was nowhere to be seen.

"What is it Dipper?" Mabel asked, running over to her brother's side, who was currently hyperventilating.

"There's… there's goat teeth under my pillow!" He screeched, pointing at it as if it were a crime scene.

"Goat teeth?" Soos questioned. "Lemme check that out for you, dude." He approached the pillow and carefully lifted it up. Sure enough, underneath where the pillow used to be, there was a pile of goat teeth. "Whoa dude, you weren't kidding. This is gross," he said, poking the pile. The poke caused the teeth pile to fall and scatter across Dipper's bed.

Dipper groaned. "I can't take this anymore! Where's Bill?" He growled.

Mabel smiled. "Well, he should be right at the end of my bed, tied to it against his will and- oh no, he's gone." She said, her smile fading into a frown. "How could he have escaped my handkerchief rope?" She asked herself.

Dipper began to freak out even more. "What do you mean _he's gone_?" He shouted, his voice going so high it was dangerously close to being at a volume only dogs would be able to hear. "There's no way he left the Shack, it isn't possible!"

Some laughter interrupted their conversation and Dipper turned around to the window, which is where it was coming from. In the triangle outline, Bill appeared and floated towards them and laughed.

"Wow kid, that was priceless!" He cackled. With a wave of his hand, the goat teeth zoomed away back to where they had come from, followed by a snapping noise and a _baa_ noise. Dipper shuddered.

"All right Bill, that's it! We are putting down some ground rules!" He shouted. Bill raised a nonexistent eyebrow at him.

"Rules are made to be broken, kid." He said nonchalantly.

Mabel smiled at him. "I like your philosophy, Bill." Dipper seemed to get even more frustrated than he was before.

"Mabel, you're not supposed to agree with the evil triangle dream demon!" He exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm with Dipper on this one dude," Soos stated, going over to stand with the thirteen year old.

"Yes, thank you, Soos." Dipper said and glanced up at his handyman friend and smiled. Then, he turned his gaze back to Bill. "All right, first of all, you can't rip out animal teeth and then shove it under someone's pillow! You'll give someone a heart attack!" He exclaimed, glowering at the dream demon that floated before him. Bill rolled an eye, unamused.

He made a noise that sounded almost like a sigh. "Yeesh, all right Pine Tree. I won't put anymore animal teeth under pillows." He said. "At least, not under yours," he added more quietly. If he had a mouth, he'd be smirking right now.

Dipper was still looking at Bill suspiciously. "One more rule," he said. "You can't destroy anything inside the Shack," he told Bill sternly. Another eye roll.

"Where's the fun in that?" Bill grumbled. "Fine, I'll accept you rules," he said. _If it's one step closer to getting my powers back and getting this redemption thing over with, then I'll do it,_ he thought to himself. _I'll do whatever it takes._

* * *

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, to say the least. Mabel did try to cover Bill in stickers, but he just levitated beyond her reach. She tried many ways to reach him, but none of them worked and she had to begrudgingly admit defeat. She wasn't very happy about it.

Dipper was annoyed by the demon's presence, but had to keep him around. He didn't want to start their so-called interrogation until Grunkle Ford and Grunkle Stan get back from their adventure. He felt like it wouldn't be fair, because they should hear what Bill would say in person. They deserved that much, Ford especially, since he seemed to know the most about Bill.

In the mean time, he let Mabel bother the triangle all she wanted, because there was nothing his powers could do to hurt them or anyone else, for that matter. So, it was a win for the Pines Twins. Bill...? Not so much. Anyone could see that he hated everyone in the Mystery Shack with a burning passion, that much was clear.

Soos was the only one who still seemed content with life. Melody would come to work during the day, and once the Shack was closed they went out and did something together.

They had to hide Bill for when there had been tourists, but once that was over, they pulled Wendy aside and explained what had happened. She had reacted better than they thought she would. She didn't freak out, but she wasn't okay with it either. But she trusted the Pines.

Once her shift was over though, she did run into Bill.

"Listen you evil equilateral triangle, if you try anything, then I'm going to dropkick you all the way back to whatever nightmarish realm you came from," she threatened, glaring at me.

"Duly noted," he replied. They continued to have a intense staring contest face-off that lasted for about twelve seconds before she walked out the door. Bill watched her leave before turning away after a few seconds. Was he worried about the redhead? No, of course not! She was just some pathetic human. Once he got his powers back, he wouldn't ever have to give her a second thought. But then again, that was what he had thought about Pine Tree and Shooting Star, and look where _that_ got him...

Whatever, it didn't matter! He'd do things differently this time and he would come out on top. He was looking back on what he did wrong during the first Weirdmageddon and how he could fix it now. He ran each scenario through his mind, and there seemed to be a flaw with each one. And with each one, he had to go back to try and fix. He was getting frustrated with it, and it didn't help he always had Pine Tree, Shooting Star, Question Mark, and now Ice watching his every move. It would only get worse when Sixer and Fez got back.

Shooting Star kept treating him like a pet, Pine Tree treated him as a mentally insane criminal (which he was), Ice treated him like a ticking time bomb, and Question Mark treated him the most normal out of the bunch. He found it sort of odd that Question Mark wasn't afraid of him like everyone else was.

So, one day, after the Mystery Shack had closed, he decided to confront Question Mark about it.

"Sup, triangle dude?" Question Mark said.

Bill narrowed his eye. "All right, what's your deal? What do you want from me?" He asked.

"Whaddya' mean?" Question Mark replied, scratching his head in confusion.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! Don't play dumb with me, Question Mark," Bill growled.

Question Mark laughed. "I literally have no idea what you're talking about, dude."

Bill bawled his hands into fists with frustration. "Quit playing games, yes you do. I'm talking about how you keep treating me like I'm one you pathetic meat sacks that are an excuse of a species!"

Realization passed over Soos' face. "Oh, now I know what you're talking about," he said. "I guess that if you're gonna be like, living with us now, then I may as well treat you like an actual living person. My Abuelita says it's good to give people second chances, if you know what I mean." Soos explained. "Anyways, there may be some gnomes stealing things from the Shack, so I gotta go take care of that. I'll catch you later dude!" Then, Soos was gone, off to fix whatever problem there was.

Bill stared at nothing, a blank look on his... face?

Um, what?

Second chances?

It felt a little strange that the whole reason he was sent back was for a second chance, and that Question Mark brought up always believing in second chances. Was it connected?

No, he was just being paranoid. There wasn't any connection. He knew there was no connection. It was just a coincidence.

Right?

* * *

 **Oh, Bill, you should know that in Gravity Falls, nothing is just a coincidence. It's gonna take a lot to convince this guy to change though, if you know what I mean.**

 **I hope you guys are enjoying this so far, and let me know your thoughts in the reviews! Stay tuned for next chapter. Bye!**


	4. Behind the Waterfall

**Hey guys, I'm back! Sorry this chapter took longer to make than the others. I was busy with school and stuff.**

* * *

Stan looked down at the picture in his hands, the one they had taken the day before Dipper and Mabel had to leave Gravity Falls last summer. The twins, Soos, Wendy, Ford, and himself were all in it. He'd kept it close over the course of the journey.

It felt like last summer had been a lifetime ago. Maybe in a way, it was. Since then, he'd flirted with mermaids, killed giant squids, stolen a pot of gold from a leprechaun, and tons of other crazy stuff. And, he had done all of it with his brother, who had been gone for nearly thirty years. Things could really change in the span of one summer.

He wondered what they were up to now. Probably going on some crazy adventure, exploring the forest and discovering more mysteries.

Yup, those kids were definitely somewhere outside getting themselves into trouble.

* * *

Dipper felt like he couldn't even step out of the Shack for one minute without Bill messing something up. The guy was like a small toddler, not being able to help himself from knocking something off of the shelf! He wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to take this.

Currently, Mabel was having the time of her life asking Bill random get-to-know-you questions she got from the internet. Like, what was his favorite color? Or, what were his hobbies? She got pretty strange answers that she didn't want to know more about.

"All right, where are you from?" She asked him, cocking her head to the side. He glanced at her.

"Well, let's see! I'm from a dimension with flat minds, flat dreams, flat people, and a flat world! That's why I destroyed it. I liberated it!" He said cheerfully. Mabel frowned.

"You... destroyed your home? But, don't you ever miss it?" She wondered. "Like, what about your family? Your friends? Your house?" She listed all of the things on her fingers. "Don't you miss any of it?" She asked desperately. Dipper was pretending to write things down, even though he was actually listening to their conversation. He waited for Bill's answer.

"Haha, no, not at all! Why would I?" He replied. Wait, for a fraction of a second, Dipper swore that the dream demon had hesitated. Was he imagining it? Was he going crazy? Maybe he needed to spend some time outside of the Shack. He could make Soos babysit Bill or something. Soos was pretty much okay with everything, so he shouldn't mind.

"Well, why didn't you just start Weirdmageddon in your own dimension?" Dipper said, asking a question of his own.

Bill scoffed as if the answer should be obvious. "Two-dimension and three-dimensional just don't go together, kid! I thought you were supposed to be the smart one."

Dipper rolled his eyes in annoyance and frustration. "You know what? I'm getting out of the house. Mabel, you watch Bill."

Mabel grinned so hard it looked like her face might shatter and she turned to Bill. "Can I do whatever I want with him?" She asked eagerly.

"Knock yourself out," he responded.

As Dipper walked downstairs and to the door, he heard a shout saying _"It's bedazzling time!"_ and a frantic _"No!"_ come from upstairs. Right now, it wasn't his problem, because right now, Dipper Pines was officially on break.

Wendy and he had switched hats back, so he was back with his lucky destiny hat. His journal was tucked away in his vest, which he was still wearing after all of this time. However, he had changed his old red t-shirt to a more seafoam green color. It was time for a change, and Mabel said she was sick of seeing him wearing the same clothes all the time.

Dipper Pines was ready for adventure.

He took out his journal, which had some pages from the third one Grunkle Ford had made because when you looked over a book more than one hundred times, you usually get a pretty clear image in your mind of the pages. At least, Dipper did. Maybe that was just him. Probably.

Back in Piedmont, he had found more weird things than he suspected. A jumping bean that could telepathically communicate with others, a chest where all of his things disappeared, a book that always had the words disappear whenever he tried to write in it. So yeah, the school year had been a lot more fun than Dipper had originally thought it was going to be.

Dipper began to think about what he should do. He could check out the bunker again, even though last time he had almost died in there... then again, maybe there were some things they had missed while being down there. It wasn't like he was going to let the Shapeshifter out. But usually, whenever he got an idea like this, it didn't go so great. So he decided that the logical thing to do was to find some other mystery.

Maybe there was some other hidden workplace Ford had in the forest of Gravity Falls. And if there was, Dipper was determined to find it.

* * *

After much roaming around the woods, Dipper finally found something that could maybe be a place Ford had hidden from the rest of the world. He just had to find out for sure.

What was behind the waterfall that flowed through Gravity Falls? As far as he could tell from maps and other sources, there seemed to be a cave there. Maybe Grunkle Ford had used it to his advantage. After all, in Gravity Falls, anything was possible.

Dipper took a deep breath and ran through the water and hoped that his journal wouldn't get too messed up from the water. It should be safe in his vest, at least a little bit, After all, Journal 3 had survived getting swept away in a flood. A small shower shouldn't be too hard on his.

When Dipper opened his eyes to see, he couldn't believe it. He had been right! In the cave, there was a desk set up that had ink, a quill, some papers, and other things. There was, of course, a chair, and next to the desk was some sort of tube that came from the ceiling and into the ground. Inside it was crystal blue water that had a slight glow to it. There were other things that were in the hidden lab, but Dipper wasn't sure what all of them were.

He looked around in wonder. More secrets and mysteries for him to discover! Or, he could just get Grunkle Ford to tell him what these things were, but there wasn't any fun in that, because then it wouldn't be a mystery anymore.

Cautiously, he approached the desk, scared that something might jump out at him. This place probably hadn't been used in years, who knew what kind of terrifying creatures lurked here?

When nothing happened, Dipper relaxed. He picked up one of the papers and began to read it.

 _My Muse has been telling me that there are supernatural properties in the water source of Gravity Falls. He says that if I discover it, I may be able to find more information that can help me build the portal. So, I built a secret lab in the cave behind the waterfall. As far as I know, no one ever comes here! It's the perfect hiding place. I ran out of room in Journal 2, and I currently don't have a third journal to write in. Maybe I'll transfer these pages into Journal 3 when I get it._

Dipper began to read another paper.

 _What my Muse told me is true! The water that runs through Gravity Falls is indeed supernatural. It appears to have leaked out of another dimension, which is more evidence that building the portal is possible! I've begun to collect samples of the water to run tests on it. When I took it out of the river, it began to glow an unnatural blue. Very interesting. I'll have to look into it more._

 _I'm curious to see what would happen if I mixed water from our dimension with the supernatural water. I'll have to test that out some time to see the results. If nothing happens, then it was a waste of time. If something does, then I've made a new scientific discovery!_

Dipper then flipped to another piece of paper to see if the writing would continue.

 _I finished collecting samples from the water and upon further inspection, they're all from different dimensions, which is incredible! I guess that solves my question about the water changing if it comes in contact with another form of water._

Near the bottom of the page was another paragraph.

 _Today in the forest while I was fighting a hostile pack of gnomes, they managed to defeat me. Humiliated, I had to retreat. I was going back to my lab behind the waterfall and when I went through the water, it healed my injuries! I wonder what other abilities the water has..._

Dipper sighed. He wasn't finding any more information on Bill. Sure, all of this about the water was cool and he would definitely try to use it later somehow, but it wasn't what he had come for. Maybe he'd read a few more papers and then be done.

 _While I was thinking about dimensions today, I asked Bill about his own. He responded with "I could take it or leave it" and laughed. Whenever I tried to ask him about it again, he'd change the topic. I wonder if something happened to it._

Dipper read over the paragraph again. Bill had acted weird about his dimension _again._ But why? He was the one who destroyed it, why did he seem to care about it still?

With a puzzled frown, Dipper stuffed the paper in the pocket of his vest where he kept his journal. He looked around at the lab again before walking toward the waterfall. Taking a deep breath, he ran through as fast as he could. Once he was on the other side, he took his hat off and squeezed the water out and shook his hair, droplets of water spraying everywhere. Dogs made it look easier.

He checked on his journal and the paper, which were both somehow still intact. Maybe he was blessed by a luck spirit at some point. Maybe they existed and were worshipped by leprechauns. It was possible.

* * *

When he walked back into the Mystery Shack, he was greeted by Mabel, who was covered in glitter, which was pretty normal for her. She could cover herself in glitter, sprinkles, stickers, macaroni, and nobody ever questioned it anymore.

"Look Dipper! I bedazzled all of the front side of Bill!" She said cheerfully. She flipped the yellow triangle around so Dipper could see her artwork. Bill slowly blinked (which he made look painful), causing some of the glittering beads to come off.

Soos was behind the counter making new attractions and Wendy was reading a comic book that Soos had given her.

"Dude, you should've heard his screams," Soos said and looked up from the creature he was creating, which was the body of a duck with a fish head and fedora. The glue started to overflow on the creature, but Soos didn't notice. "They were crazy loud."

"Yeah," Wendy agreed. "I bet the townspeople could hear him," she added, which earned a glare from Bill, but Wendy paid no attention to him. Instead, she flipped to another page of her comic. "Good thing it's lazy Tuesday and we don't have any customers," she said.

"Lazy Tuesday is a blessing!" Mabel declared.

Dipper slowly passed the group and went upstairs to think about the information he had discovered. Back to the conspiracy board.

* * *

 **Another chapter for you beautiful people! Stan and Ford get closer to Gravity Falls, Bill is tortured by Mabel, and Dipper finds out more interesting information about Bill. Sort of.**

 **See you all next time!**


	5. Bill The Gamer?

**I'm so sorry for taking so long to update! I wish I could've gotten it out sooner! But remember, even if I go for a while without updating, the story doesn't become abandoned unless I make an official A/N saying so!**

* * *

Over the next few days, Dipper was able to get a little more information about Bill's home dimension. Either from stray research papers his Grunkle Ford had left behind, or sometimes even from the dream demon himself, though they had been very vague. Both times, Dipper had written down as much as he could in his journal. Nowadays, most pages were filled with things about Bill Cipher. He supposed it was a good thing for if Bill ever got his powers back and tried to kill them again, which was something he hoped would never happen. But, Bill Cipher was the most unpredictable creature he had ever faced, so anything could happen.

"Hey Mabel, do you think Grunkle Ford and Grunkle Stan will be back today?" He turned to his sister, who was holding Waddles in the air like he was a flying superhero. The pig was currently wearing a yellow cape tied around his neck. Mabel glanced over at her brother, her face covered in glitter and sprinkles.

"Probably," she told him. "I wonder how much they'll freak out over Bill," she added thoughtfully. Dipper grimaced.

"Yeah, we're gonna have to figure out how to explain that," he muttered. He cast a few looks around the room, raising an eyebrow. "Where is Bill, anyway?" He wondered aloud. The dream demon wasn't anywhere in sight, and it had been strangely quiet all morning. This usually wasn't a good sign. Most of the time, it meant that Bill had stolen some things to create some sort of ultimate, sadistic prank. One time he had a block of cement in a bucket sitting on top of a door. It narrowly missed Wendy, who had taken a step back outside to talk to Tambry. Dipper and Mabel had a long conversation with Bill afterward.

"I left Bill with Soos," Mabel replied nonchalantly. Dipper's expression turned from one of curiosity to horror.

"You did what?!" He exclaimed, immediately jumping to his feet. Leaving Bill with Soos could either end in a tragedy, or the two would team up and do something that would also end in a tragedy. Neither one seemed like good scenarios.

So, being the logical person he was, Dipper raced off to find the two. Not long after he left his room, he heard crazed, demonic laughter and assumed the worst. It was coming from the living room! Going as fast as his legs could carry him, Dipper burst into the living room, making his heroic entrance."Stop right there Bill- wait, what?" Instead of the horrific scene he had been expecting, he found Bill sitting on the ground with a video game controller. Soos had one too, but he was sitting on the couch. Soos glanced over at Dipper and smiled. "Hey, dude! I was just teaching Bill how to play video games! He's actually pretty good at it! He likes the ones where you gotta kill everyone."

"You... You taught an insane demon how to play video games?" Dipper asked, his jaw dropping. Soos nodded. Dipper glanced over at the TV screen, where loads of aliens were getting shot at and blown up by Bill, who hadn't noticed he was standing there. He was too invested in the game. "Soos, can we talk, like, alone?" He asked quietly.

Soos put the controller down and went into the hallway with Dipper. "What is it, dude?"

"Well, it's just... _Bill_. He's the guy who tried to take over the _entire world_ last summer. You remember that, right?"

"Well, yeah, of course, I do, dude. It's just that, I've been talking to the guy a lot, and once you get past the whole chaotic side of him, he doesn't seem that bad," Soos explained. "He's great at video games and is kind of funny, in a weird way."

Dipper pinched the bridge of his nose. "Soos, he could be just trying to fool you! He's dangerous!" He insisted.

Soos shrugged. "I don't know Dipper, he can't hurt us, remember? If things do go wrong, then we can just totally defeat him again," he said. "I'll let you know if I see anything suspicious," he promised and then went back to the living room. Dipper sighed and watched him go.

He dragged his feet up the steps back to the attic, aka his room. He went face-first into his bed and Mabel looked over at him, noticing his change in mood. Earlier, he had been freaking out. Now, he seemed totally out of it. She decided to figure out what was troubling her brother.

She set Waddles down on the ground and watched him scamper off. Then, she slowly made her way over to Dipper's bed. "Hey, there Dipper. I noticed you were in a sour-candy mood, so I wanna know what's wrong. Tell me, what's eating at ya'?" She asked. He lifted his face up from his mattress and looked over at her. "It's just Bill. Soos has been hanging out with him and says he's not that bad, but I'm not buying it. Bill tried to kill us and take over the world! How can I trust him?"

"Well, you've always been a little paranoid," she started. He opened his mouth to protest. "But, I agree with you. I don't trust Bill either," she said. "Not yet, at least," she added. "So, if he is up to anything, we can figure it out together, kay?"

He gave her a small smile. "All right, sounds good," he said. Then, he pushed himself out of his bed and stood next to his sister. "Thanks for agreeing to help me, Mabel."

"No problem, Dipper," she grinned. "We're the Mystery Twins, we stick together!" She declared, pumping a fist in the air. Dipper did the same and they both smiled at each other and giggled. They gave each other a high five, too.

"Well, Dipper, at least we won't be bored this summer," she said to him.

He nodded. "Yup. We've got a lot of work ahead of us."

* * *

 **I feel really bad because this chapter seems so short...? I just hope you all still enjoyed it.**


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